


The Best Day With You

by kjack89



Series: The Story of Us (Fairytale AU) [3]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Developing Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Quests
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 22:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2043447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/kjack89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sir Grantaire and Prince Enjolras decide to take a small break halfway through their journey back to the kingdom and learn a little more about each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Day With You

**Author's Note:**

> I've resigned myself to the fact that there will be at the very least a part 4 to this AU, because I had a different part plotted out before I realized it needed something in between, and there will possibly be more parts depending on inspiration and all that jazz. Hopefully it will not take me months to update this 'verse.
> 
> Usual disclaimer. Please be kind and tip your fanfic writers in the form of comments and/or kudos!

“Are we there yet?” Enjolras complained, dragging his feet as he trailed behind Grantaire, who was leading Éponine by her bridle.

Her ears flicked in irritation and Grantaire gritted his teeth at the question, since it was not the first time that Enjolras had asked the question that day. Or week. Or month. “We’re about 100 yards closer than we were when you last asked,” he said, as calmly as he could manage, because he was about one more repetition of the question away from running Enjolras through with his sword or, more likely, leaving him here in the forest halfway between his dragon-guarded tower and the kingdom.

It did take quite a bit of effort to clean blood off his blade, after all.

Enjolras scowled at Grantaire and slapped at a bug on his arm. “When you said it was going to take two months, I  _thought_  you were exaggerating. It’s  _been_  almost two months, and we’re not even close yet, are we? Couldn’t we at least ride your horse for a bit?”

Éponine let out a warning whinny and turned her head to glare at Enjolras, and Grantaire patted her neck soothingly. “He doesn’t mean it, love, he just hasn’t been around anyone besides a dragon for the past ten years.” He glanced over at Enjolras and sighed. “As I told you,” he said, as patiently as he could manage, since Enjolras seemed bound and determined to stretch his patience to the breaking point every minute of every day, since when he wasn’t asking if they were magically there yet, he was arguing with just about every little thing Grantaire said, “it’s two months  _riding_ , and we have to walk or Éponine — incredible, wonderful, genius and amazing steed that she is—” Éponine nickered appreciatively “—is never going to make it all the way back. Not with both of us riding. Besides, we’re on flat land, in gorgeous country, and we need to save Éponine for the rougher terrain that you wouldn’t want to be walking over, so you really shouldn’t be complaining.”

Enjolras’s scowl deepened. “Then can we at least take a rest? There’s got to be a creek or lake nearby and I haven’t had a bath in  _weeks_. And if I smell anything like what  _you_  smell like, I could probably use one.”

Grantaire scratched the back of his neck, his expression contemplative. On the one hand, he didn’t want to delay any more than necessary, eager to get Enjolras back to the kingdom and off of his hands. On the other, if taking a few hours for a break would get Enjolras to be quiet for half a day, it might just be worth it. “I wouldn’t think that smelling nice was necessary for the revolution,” he said in lieu of answering.

He didn’t need to look over to know that Enjolras was rolling his eyes. “Forbid me for allowing myself this one luxury,” Enjolras said waspishly, then sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m just — it’s been a long two months.”

“Long for both of us,” Grantaire agreed. He glanced up in the sky. “Very well. We should have a few hours yet before they come back. There’s a lake not too far from here.” He turned to Éponine and stroked her face as he took her bridle off. “You good to graze for a bit?” She snorted and nudged him and Grantaire smiled. “All right. Don’t wander off and don’t hurt anyone, alright?”

Once he was sure Éponine was set, he started off in the direction of the lake, Enjolras trailing after him, looking confused. “A few hours until who comes back?” he asked.

Grantaire didn’t look back at him as he told him cheerfully, “The sirens. Freshwater, of course, which makes them a bit milder than their oceanic cousins, but they’ll still drown you just the same. Unlike their brethren, though, they’re really only active at dawn and dusk, which gives us a bit until they’ll come out singing for our blood.”

Enjolras stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. “Sirens?” he repeated. “I thought that was just something out of stories used to frighten children.”

Shaking his head, Grantaire did look back, smirking now. “Really? You, a prince who was guarded by a dragon, thought that sirens weren’t real? I mean, come on. We literally saw a unicorn the other day.” They had, a particularly beautiful specimen who looked distinctly unimpressed when all three gawked at him.

Enjolras, however, had a contemplative expression on his face. “They lure men to their death, right, with their beauty and their singing voices? Would they work on women?”

For a moment, Grantaire was confused, thinking Enjolras was referring to the unicorn. Then he snorted and shook his head. “I don’t know. I suppose only if said women were interested in other women, which seems a bit of a flaw in the plan. Granted, patriarchy has forbid most women from the adventuring that would lead them to crossing a siren’s path, but still.” He shrugged, figuring it was the end of the conversation.

There was a brief pause before Enjolras said hesitantly, “And if a man wasn’t interested in women?”

Grantaire glanced over at him. “Well, I suppose if there were male sirens, which there might well be, though I’ve never seen any. I guess that a man who wasn’t interested in women probably wouldn’t be affected, though I can’t say I’m keen on finding out.” He paused before adding, though not unkindly, “And I don’t think you would be, either.”

Enjolras flushed and looked away. “And now you know one of the other reasons my father sent me into exile.”

“Well, your father’s clearly an idiot, for more reason than one,” Grantaire said calmly, continuing to lead Enjolras towards the lake. “You were, what, eight? when you were exiled, and you can’t punish a kid for feeling one way or another, especially at that stage of their life, any more than you can punish an adult who’s realized that there are some things you can’t change about yourself.”

Though Enjolras nodded, he didn’t look entirely convinced. “So you don’t think it’s weird that I don’t like women?” he asked, his voice quiet.

Grantaire shrugged. “One of my closest friends accidentally drank a potion that was slowly killing him — he thought it was meant to cure his tinnitus, it’s a long story — and the only cure for it was true love’s kiss. Only for him, it turned out to be true  _loves_ ’ kiss — a guy and girl. All three are very happy now. And since we live in a world where that’s possible, in addition to, you know, dragons and sirens and unicorns, it’s pretty hard to judge.” He winked at Enjolras. “Besides, just because I like women doesn’t mean that I  _only_  like women.”

Enjolras flushed scarlet and almost fell over a tree root, and didn’t even see at first that they had reached the edge of a glistening lake, the early afternoon sky reflecting on the calm surface. When he did look up, his breath seemed to catch in his throat. “Wow,” he managed.

“Pretty much,” Grantaire agreed, starting to unbuckle his armor and tossing it carelessly in a pile.

Enjolras frowned at him, quickly averting his eyes when Grantaire got him armor off and started stripping out of his underclothes. “What are you doing?” he spluttered.

Grantaire stared at him, half in and half out of his undershirt. “Well, unless you want to get your clothes all wet and have to slog around in them the rest of the day and night, and sleep in wet clothes, it’s pretty much our only option.” Enjolras still looked hesitant and Grantaire’s expression softened. “Look, I know you’ve been locked in a tower for the past decade, but skinny-dipping — which is to say, swimming naked with a bunch of friends in a decidedly non-romantic fashion — isn’t terribly uncommon, regardless of who or what said friends are into. And if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll get in the water first and I promise not to look.”

“No,” Enjolras said, his voice steadier. “No, it’s fine.” He slowly began removing his own garments — once finely milled cloth as afforded a prince, now ravaged by the elements — and Grantaire tactfully looked away anyway, though he couldn’t help but sneak a look.

And merciful Mother above, he was glad that he did.

Enjolras had looked like an angel when Grantaire had first seen him, and the image was only reinforced as Enjolras slowly removed his shirt revealing a torso that looked like it had been perfectly carved from marble. Grantaire had to actually check that his jaw wasn’t hanging open, and he quickly said, “Race you to the water” in a voice about an octave higher than normal before cannonballing in so as to stop himself from staring far past the point of propriety.

The water was cold, but Grantaire probably needed that, and he stayed submerged under water longer than was probably necessary, since when he came back up for air, Enjolras had waded waist-deep into the water, looking more relaxed than he had in weeks. “The water feels nice,” Enjolras told Grantaire, who was not looking at the water drops slowly making their way down Enjolras’s chest, nope, not at all.

“It does feel nice to relax,” Grantaire admitted, leaning back into the water and floating slightly. He glanced at Enjolras and told him, “I know it seems like we haven’t been making much progress, but we really have. We’re setting a pretty fast pace, all things considered.”

Enjolras shrugged, swimming through the water to get closer to Grantaire. “Why, are you eager to get rid of me?” he teased. Grantaire didn’t answer right away, and Enjolras’s face fell. “Am I that bad of company?”

“That depends,” Grantaire said dryly. “Do you know how many times you asked ‘are we there yet’ today alone?” Enjolras flushed, and Grantaire sighed. “Sorry. That was mean of me. You’re not terrible company — I imagine I’m certainly not much better — but I’m just not really cut out for things of this nature.”

“Things of this nature?” Enjolras asked, raising an eyebrow at Grantaire. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Grantaire looked away. “You know,” he said in a forced casual voice, “rescuing princesses — or princes. Fighting dragons. Going on missions — quests — things.”

“You mean being a knight?”

Smiling slightly, Grantaire shrugged. “I guess so. I told you when we met that I wasn’t a proper knight, and I certainly didn’t lie about that. I never really intended on being a knight in the first place, I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Enjolras frowned. “How does one get to be a knight by just being in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

Grantaire shrugged again. “My father was a creditor, and a fairly good one, but he quickly figured out when I was little that I didn’t have the head for mathematics. Whereas your father sent you into exile, mine found a knight who was willing to take me as a squire. Being a squire isn’t an easy life, and I discovered alcohol made it easier — though to be fair, alcohol makes just about everything easier.” Enjolras made a face but kept quiet — they had debated the merits of alcohol before and fell in distinctly opposing camps. “And one night I drank a bit too much and fell asleep. During the night, a party of raiders fell on the village nearby, and the knight I was squiring for and a few others went in to stop them. I wandered in about a half hour after the battle was done, mug of ale still in my hand, and they thought I had helped. So I was knighted in recognition of my valor.” He smirked. “And the King has undoubtedly regretted that decision ever since.”  

“But you’re still a knight,” Enjolras said slowly. “How you got to be a knight doesn’t really matter.”

“To the contrary,” Grantaire said easily. “There’s all kinds of things that come along with being a knight, and those who have earned it have those things. Honor, bravery, chivalry, fighting for the little guy, those sorts of things.”

“And you don’t have those?”

Grantaire’s smirk widened. “Of the many qualities I lack, knightly ones are certainly several of them. Those things take a certain amount of belief, I guess, and if there’s one thing that I don’t have a lot of, it’s belief.”

Enjolras was silent for a long moment, mostly floating in the water as Grantaire tried not to look at him, to try to figure out what was going on in that awfully pretty head of his. “Well, I don’t know about belief,” Enjolras said slowly, “but I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit for some of the other qualities. I mean, you rescued me, and that has to count for something, right?”

There were many things Grantaire could say to that, but he settled for his usual snark. “Well, luckily it gives me ample opportunity to disappoint you, too.” Enjolras frowned, but Grantaire hurried on before he could say anything. “But enough about me. I haven’t really asked you, given our, uh, more dynamic discussions that occupy our time—”

“Arguments,” Enjolras supplied. “You can call them arguments.”

“—Anyway, what are you planning on doing when we get back to civilization? You’ve been gone for so long, after all.”

Enjolras smiled, a sudden, almost vicious smile. “I’ve got  _plenty_  of plans. I’ve been plotting what I was going to do when I was rescued—”

“I thought we had agreed that using the term ‘rescue’ minimized your individual agency,” Grantaire interrupted, blinking innocently at Enjolras, who impatiently splashed some water in his direction.

“Whatever. I’ve been plotting what I was going to do for  _years_. I’ve got big plans, and hopefully once I’m back, I’ll be able to put some of them in action.”

Grantaire splashed him back, grinning when Enjolras instantly reached up for his hair as if trying to protect his perfect blond curls. “Well aren’t you Sir Ambition. You know if you need any help with your plans, you only need to ask.”

Enjolras looked surprised. “I thought you were eager to get rid of me.”

Grantaire shrugged. “I’m hoping it’ll be better when you’re not asking me ‘are we there yet’ every other time we talk.” He glanced at Enjolras before adding, “Besides, maybe I was a little over-hasty in chalking you up as completely hopeless. You’re not so bad when you’re out here relaxing and not badgering me about how much I should care about things that I don’t care about.”

Exasperated, Enjolras started, “But that’s because you  _should_  care, and no matter how you got there, you’re a knight, and you have, if not an obligation, than an opportunity to—” before Grantaire interrupted him in spectacular fashion by dunking him under the water.

Enjolras came up spluttering, his curls plastered to his head in a most hilarious style, and Grantaire was laughing so hard that he didn’t notice the almost sinister grin that crossed Enjolras’s face. “Why you…” Enjolras growled, swimming over to Grantaire and dunking him as well.

For a brief moment, he looked triumphant, but then Grantaire grabbed him around the waist from underwater and pulled him down with him. For several minutes they tussled in the water, splashing each other and dunking each other and laughing loudly. So loudly, in fact, that one of the sirens swam up from where she had been sleeping at the bottom of the lake. “Shut up before you wake us all up,” she told them, more of a warning than anything.

Her voice didn’t do anything to Enjolras, of course, but Grantaire was so busy laughing and grinning at Enjolras that he barely noticed as well. ‘Sorry’ Enjolras mouthed at the siren, who quirked an eyebrow at him and blew him a kiss before disappearing back under water. “C’mon,” Enjolras said to Grantaire, pulling him towards the shore. “We should get back and set up camp before the sun sets.”

The sun was still hovering well above the horizon, but Grantaire shrugged and went with it. “I suppose. I have to make sure Éponine hasn’t run into anything dangerous anyway.”

“Worried about what they’ll do to her?” Enjolras asked.

Grantaire smirked. “More worried about what she’ll do to them. She may be a horse, but I swear, she’s more like a daughter of a wolf than anything.”

Together they got out of the water, gathering their clothes as they let the sun warm the wetness from their skin. Grantaire carefully shimmied into his underwear, trying not to get them wet, and glanced over at Enjolras, who wasn’t dressing yet. “Waiting for something in particular?”

Enjolras shook his head, frowning slightly. “No, just — thinking about something you said. And I, well, I just wanted to tell you…” He hesitated for a moment before kissing Grantaire’s cheek much like he had when wishing him luck against the dragon, and his voice was just as breathless as it had been then as he told him, “You haven’t disappointed me yet.”

Then he gathered up his clothes and hurried away, leaving Grantaire staring after him before calling weakly, “That probably would have been less weird if you weren’t naked.”

Not that he was complaining.

Because he wasn’t. At all.

Still, he made his way slowly back to where they had left Éponine, finding a half-dressed Enjolras along the way wandering in the wrong direction, and together they made it back, both relatively silent for once. Grantaire quickly got a fire going before going to tend to Éponine, who whinnied as he approached.

“How was your day?” he asked her, rubbing her nose. Éponine nickered happily and nudged him, and Grantaire laughed and kissed her nose. “Yeah. Me too. I had a great day.” He patted her neck and looked over at where Enjolras was trying desperately to dry his curls over the fire. “The best day, in fact. And who knows — maybe there’ll be more to come.”


End file.
